Meet The Mentors

Dr. Darshan Panda is a Scientist in the Department of Crop Physiology & Biochemistry at the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Bidyadharpur, Cuttack. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Biotechnology from Ravenshaw University in 2022. He is working currently as a Scientist at ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack. He has published his research findings through the publication of over 50 articles in esteemed academic international journals. He has 10 years of experience in the fields of plant physiology, molecular biology and biotechnology. His area of expertise includes crop photobiology, physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, tissue culture and biotechnology. He is the author of two textbooks in biotechnology and microbiology.

Dr. Ratul Das is a distinguished Scientist specializing in Nanobiotechnology. With a PhD in Industrial Biotechnology (Product Development) from the University of Quebec, Canada, Dr. Das has established himself as a trailblazer in his field. His research experience spans 3.5 years at IIT Guwahati and includes groundbreaking work in developing nanoformulation for delivery to cancer cells. Dr. Das has an impressive publication record, with 70 peer-reviewed international research and review papers, including one edited book (Wiley). He has also contributed significantly to conferences and holds a US patent. As an Associate Fellow at TERI- Deakin Nanobiotechnology Centre (TDNBC), India, and an Honorary Fellow of IFM, Deakin University, Australia, Dr. Das supervised PhD students and collaborated on pioneering projects. He was one of the core members of the scientific team of TDNBC in preparing the national guidelines for evaluation of nano-based agri-input and food products published by the DBT, Govt. of India. He co-founded the prestigious journal ‘Nanotechnology for Environmental Engineering’ and serves as an Associate Editor. Dr. Das’s expertise extends beyond academia. He currently serves as an external consultant in the area of nano-induced health effects for ‘Save The Environment’ (STE), a non-government organization focusing on environment. Driven by his passion for innovation and commitment to the environment, Dr. Ratul Das continues to make remarkable contributions to the field of Nanobiotechnology.

Mrs. Gurpreet Kaur holds an MCA degree from Punjab Technical University (2010) and has over 7 years of IT industry experience as a Senior Software Developer in various companies. Her expertise lies in front-end technologies, data structures, and algorithms (DSA).

Dr. Aqsa is an Assistant Professor and researcher with over a decade of professional experience in academia and research, specializing in Criminal Law. She has supervised 40 undergraduate theses and served as a project coordinator for the ‘Standardized Module for Legal Awareness Program,’ a project undertaken by Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with the National Commission for Women in 2014. She has published six papers in reputed law journals and has presented numerous papers at national seminars and conferences on legal issues. She was honored with the Best Paper Presentation award in the field of Victimology. In addition to her research, she is actively involved in delivering guest lectures, judging moot court competitions, and serving as a resource person for workshops on legal issues at national forums.

Dr. A.V. Ullas is an Assistant Professor in the Nanotechnology program at the Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) AKTU Lucknow. He received his Ph.D.Degree in Applied Chemistry from Delhi Technological University(DTU) in 2018. Then worked as an Assistant Professor in Plastics Engineering at CIPET Lucknow from Aug 2017-2019. He later joined Nanotechnology program at CAS AKTU from September 2019. He is having 07 Years of Experience in the field of teaching. His area of expertise includes: polymer composites, processing, polymer testing, nanotechnology, etc. He is the author of 12 research articles and 16 conference proceedings in journals of repute and reviewer of several international journals.

Dr. Pooja Devi is a Principal Scientist at CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh. She is affiliated with the Materials Science and Sensor Application Department of CSIR-CSIO. She received her Ph.D. Degree in Engineering (Materials) from the Academy of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi in 2018. She has been working as a scientist at CSIR-CSIO since 2010. She is having 12 years of experience in the field of materials. Her major research interest includes materials design for green hydrogen production, water/air pollutants degradation, and water pollutants monitoring, materials engineering, techniques, and associated affordable and portable devices development for water pollutants detection, degradation, green hydrogen production, air purification, etc. She has filed 03 patents, 02 design registration, 01 copyright, transferred 02 technology, published 84 international high-impact publications, edited 07 books, 22 book chapters, 90 conference papers, and delivered 60 invited/oral talks. She has received funding/fellowships from DST, SERB, CSIR, ACS, IUSSTF, etc., for various projects. She is also a recipient of several prestigious awards and fellowships including NASI Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award (2021), IEI Young Engineer Award, INAE Young Engineer Award (2020), SERB Women Excellence Award (2020), Young Associateship of Indian Academy of Science (2019-22), Haryana Yuva Vigyan Ratan Award (2019), Young Scientist Award (2019) from Indian Science Congress Association, Young Scientist Award (2019) from International Society for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, IUSSTF Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) fellowship (2017), Canadian Commonwealth Fellowship (2010), GC Jain Memorial Award (2020) by MRSI, PITTCON- Travel Grant (2018) from American Chemical Society, SERB International Travel grant, etc.

Mr. Sourav Mohanto is currently working as a Project Associate-II under Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India in the Department of Pharmaceutics at Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Karnataka, India. He has previous working experience as academician for 3.5 Years, and also worked as Patent Research Analyst for a year. His expertise includes Drug delivery science, Materials Science, Biomaterials development and characterizations, Molecular docking, etc. He is the authors of 54 publications, 07 books, 10 Intellectual Property Rights, recipient of Young Researcher Award-2023, Best Researcher Award-2024, Best Poster Presentation award, Best Oral presentation award, etc., by various national and international organizations. He has guided various UG, and PG students at the university level and was nominated as an organizing committee member for multiple conference bodies and professional organizations (i.e., APTI, CRC-IC, APR, etc.) across the globe. Mr. Sourav has also been associated with various journals as a reviewer, editorial board member, and actively participated in International and National conferences across the globe.

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Dr. Debasish Sarkar is a Professor in the Department of Ceramic Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India. He received his Ph.D. degree in Ceramic Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India, in 2007. He earned his postdoctoral from the Korea Research Institute of Standard and Science, Daejeon, South Korea. He then worked as a Professor at NIT for 14 Years. He has 26 Years of Experience in Nanoceramics, Bioceramics, and High-Temperature Ceramics. His Area of Expertise includes: Nanoparticles, Ceramic Processing and Fabrication, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties Simulation, and Design and Analysis of Structural Ceramics. He is the author of peer-reviewed 65 SCI publications, four books (CRC Press, Springer-Nature, Wiley), five book chapters, 6 National and International Patents, Govt. of India and Industry sponsored projects with a cost of more than Rs.3.5 crore, and recipient of the MRSI medal 2016, and many more.

Mr. Devinder Singh Anand is an Assistant Professor in the UILS Department at the Chandigarh University. He received his LL.M Degree from Panjab University in 2013 and submitted his Ph.D. Thesis in May 2024. He worked as a Lecturer in Various Companies/MNCs Since 2013. He has 11 Years of Experience in the field of Law. His Area of Expertise includes Criminal Law and Constitutional Law. He published more than 7 Research papers in renowned peer-reviewed journals and various papers presented at the National and International Conferences.

Sanjay Bhargava is a results-driven business and technology management consultant with 3+ years of experience leading large-scale digital transformation, IT service delivery optimization, and corporate training, with a strong specialization in Artificial Intelligence. As a Business IT Management Consultant at Ignite IT Consulting & Educational Services, he helps organizations leverage AI, RPA, GenAI (LLM/RAG), and automation to drive efficiency and growth, using design thinking and cross-functional global delivery models.

Advocate with expertise in Legal Research, Teaching, and Litigation, passionate about the intersection of Law and Artificial Intelligence.